


sunshine daydream

by ChanyeolsRippedJeans



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Chronic Illlness, Hippie Choi Youngjae, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recreational Drug Use, Soft Im Jaebum | JB, grateful dead, kind of a big ol songfic but not really, these tags are a mess and im sorry honestly just read the description
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:01:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26256064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChanyeolsRippedJeans/pseuds/ChanyeolsRippedJeans
Summary: sunshine daydream/walking through the tall trees/going where the wind goes/blooming like a red rose/breathing more freely/light out singing/i’ll walk you in the morning, sunshine/sunshine daydream/i’ll walk you in the sunshine;; sugar magnolia-grateful dead_youngjae is exactly like the sunshine- bright, brilliant, and full of energy. this, however, is quite ironic considering youngjae can’t set foot outside.
Relationships: Choi Youngjae/Im Jaebum | JB, Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam/Kim Yugyeom, Park Jinyoung/Jackson Wang
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

“Is that the last box?” Mr. Im asked as his son, Jaebum, placed a box labeled “Jae’s Clothes” on top of a near waist-high stack.

“I think so,” Jaebum exhaled, wiping his hands on his jeans. “I think this is it.”

His father sighed, resting his hands on his hips. “Well, your mother and I will get out of your hair, then.” His eyes flickered, blinking to mirror a mood a touch more somber. “Let you unpack and get to know your roommate a bit more.”

Jaebum’s throat tightened with sadness, choking back tears. He’d been dreading this moment the entire day, the whole summer in fact. Saying goodbye to his high school friends was hard enough, but saying goodbye to his parents was a much more difficult feat. They raised him well, always encouraging him to pursue his dreams and shoot for the stars. It was thanks to them that he graduated at the top of his high school class and was offered a full-ride scholarship to KM University’s School of Medicine. They were always there for him, and now he was preparing to be without them.

Jaebum stepped around the multitude of boxes to meet his father in a bear hug, tears prickling at his eyes. “Thanks, Dad.”

“For getting out of your hair?” His father chuckled, patting his son’s shoulder in their embrace.

“No, no!” Jaebum backpedaled, leaning out of the hug. “I meant thank you, you know, for encouraging me enough to be here,” He explained. The tears in his eyes were now much closer to spilling. “I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you and Mom.”

Jaebum’s mother, who had been claiming her spot at his university-sanctioned computer chair to wipe her eyes the entire day, suddenly jumped from her seat and wrapped her arms around her son. “My Jaebum-ie, I’m so proud of you!” She cried, her arms crushing Jaebum against her. Right before Jaebum was sure he would lose consciousness, she drew back, moving her arms to cup his cheeks. “If you need anything, just call! Remember to drink green tea at least three times a day and shower every night. And please, remember to scrub behind your ears. You won’t be bringing a girl home for Christmas if you don’t!” She sniffled, pinching his ears.

Jaebum rolled his eyes. “Mom, I promise I’ll take care of myself just fine,” He smiled. Though, his mother looked deathly serious, her glossy eyes filled with worry. “But you know I’ll call because I can’t figure out how to work my iron.” He smirked, reassuring.

His mother said nothing, simply falling back into her son to give him one final hug. Jaebum and his father followed suit, huddling together as the tears finally spilled from his eyes. After a few moments, the three separated as Jaebum wiped away the tears, his father escorting his mother from the dorm.

Now left by himself, Jaebum sat down on his XL twin mattress. He looked around the small room, roughly the size of your average hotel suite. Room 405. Bare, crème-white walls with a window facing the street. Along either wall were two green, plastic-y mattresses on standard frames, faux-maple desks stained brown with two black swivel chairs pushed in and ready for study, and compact dressers with six drawers each. The room slimmed into a small hallway to the front door, and in the hall were two closets on one side, a sink and mirror to the other, and nearest the sink a door to the toilet and shower stall. The closets had no doors, just a rack and shelf with a pillar in between. This confused Jaebum greatly.

Jaebum looked at the bed and desk across from his own. His roommate had arrived earlier in the morning- before Jaebum and his parents had- the stacks of boxes the only evidence of his existence. In the three hours it had taken for Jaebum’s parents to help their son unload the family van, be greeted by move-in helpers, and fill out the appropriate paperwork, his roommate had managed to evade them. Their roommate agreement laid on Jaebum’s desk, empty.

He knew his roommate’s name- it was Jinyoung Park. The two had been paired in the last semester of their senior year on KMU’s roommate pairing website, and subsequently added each other on social media. Jinyoung was valedictorian of his graduating class, captain of not only the matheletes, but also of his high school’s mock trial and cross-country team. Jinyoung also had a bad case of hover hand, according to the prom photo he had posted to his Instagram. He apparently had gone with a pretty girl named Suzy, and his hand had rested about two inches away from her hip. Jaebum had somehow found that hilarious. Jinyoung, too, was on a full-ride scholarship to KMU and came to study pre-law. Jinyoung’s sheer amount of accomplishments made Jaebum feel inferior, having only been a choir lead. Well, and he excelled at science and got an award for that, graduating within the top ten of his class, but still wasn’t valedictorian nor salutatorian. Aside, the pair hadn’t spoken much outside of formalities via Instagram DMs, mostly regarding who was bringing the mini-fridge (Jaebum) and who was bringing the television (Jinyoung), yet Jaebum was still hopeful they would make good roommates.

Just then, Jaebum heard the click of someone sliding their ID through the door lock, and sure enough, there was Jinyoung. His hair was parted stylishly in the middle, bangs combed carefully about his forehead. His cheeks were round and brown eyes large and clear. Despite the warm weather, he wore a white button-down shirt with slate grey slacks, coupled with black converse and his shirtsleeves pushed to his elbows. Jinyoung looked a bit…dressy for a college freshman, but hey, not everyone wore jeans and a hoodie everyday like Jaebum.

“Oh, hey Jaebum.” Jinyoung smiled. He took a second to set his iced venti-sized Starbucks on the bathroom sink. “Nice to finally meet you.” He stuck out his hand in greeting.

Jaebum stood and crossed the room to shake his hand. “Nice to finally meet you, too.” He smiled. “I guess I missed you this morning, huh?”

“Yeah, my parents were insistent that move-in day was yesterday, so we wound up being the first ones to check in this morning. I went out and got some lunch and walked around campus a bit, and this is probably weird huh?”

Weird in fact it was, but Jaebum didn’t want to mention that. Maybe it truly had been an honest mistake on his parents’ part, and at least Jinyoung got a tour of campus (though all freshmen were getting a tour tomorrow). “Nah, that’s…fine,” After a split second of awkward silence, Jaebum wiped his hands against his pants nervously before suggesting, “How about we get these boxes unpacked and some things sorted, yeah?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” Jinyoung agreed. Jaebum looked into Jinyoung’s eyes as they conversed. He couldn’t help but notice how hard-set they were despite his cordial demeanor. “Also, I meant to ask: did you happen to bring a plunger?”

Jaebum’s face fell. “I seriously didn’t even think about that.”

-

For the next several hours, Jaebum and Jinyoung unpacked their belongings, decided whose closet was whose, and helped each other make minor interior designing decisions. All the while, the pair took the time to get to know one another a little deeper.

Jaebum learned that Jinyoung, while serious in demeanor, was able to loosen up a bit and act mischievously. Or, so he decided after learning Jinyoung had run the mathletes’ alcohol ring in high school, sophomore year to senior year. Not to mention the seemingly endless tales Jinyoung had about sneaking out his bedroom window and getting shitfaced at Wednesday night parties. Jinyoung seemed to have full control over his life despite being a mere eighteen years old. Jaebum thought he had the right personality to become a lawyer. He had the brain, the style, and Jaebum decided, the entirely handsome attitude. Jinyoung was very sure of himself, in such a way that made him attractive. Jaebum could tell he was the kind of cocky girls liked.

“Are you going to keep up the cross-country thing in college?” Jaebum asked, figuring out how to attach a hanging shelving unit into his closet.

“Yeah, I was signed onto the team.” Jinyoung shrugged from the floor where he was meticulously folding pairs of pants to set inside his drawers. Jinyoung was organized, startlingly so, and it was yet another thing Jinyoung did that would likely make Jaebum feel inferior this year. “I’m not sure if I want to be captain, though.” He continued. He was now sorting his pants by color. “I figure I’ll probably have enough on my plate. But if I’m offered it, I probably won’t say no.”

Jaebum stopped, looking over at Jinyoung dumbfoundedly. “Dude, you’re insane.” Jinyoung blinked at him. “I’ve only known you for what-three hours? I can already tell you’re a beast. I felt accomplished for my age, but damn, you’re on a whole other level.”

“Don’t compare yourself to me, Jaebum.” Jinyoung said, his eyes hardening. “Don’t.” Jaebum swallowed, the air in the room turning tense. “You were choir lead or whatever, and you graduated high school with seven years’ worth of science classes, like, who does _that?_ I just took AP Physics my senior year and _you_ had to go and take AP Anatomy _and_ AP Chem II. You’re on a full ride to be a fucking doctor.” Jaebum shied his eyes away as Jinyoung continued to speak. “I know we just met, but I can tell you this: I do a lot because I know I can, and I can tell that you do a lot because you want to. I think that’s a pretty notable difference, so don’t go wasting your time comparing yourself to me. That’s a pretty shitty way to start out college.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Jinyoung,” Jaebum said with a shy smile. “Thanks for that.”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, breaking the tense air about the room. “I’ll get it,” Said Jinyoung. Jaebum was still struggling with his shelving unit. Jinyoung stood from his spot on the floor, striding over to the door. Jinyoung opened it up and waiting on the other side was a guy on the shorter end of the spectrum, though rather buff, clad in basketball shorts, a muscle-tee, and backwards snapback.

“Hey, I’m Jackson, your RA!” He announced, extending his hand. “You Jinyoung or Jaebum?”

“I-uh, I’m Jinyoung,” Jinyoung stuttered out, returning the handshake. He looked startled, but quickly recovered to his previous refined demeanor. “Jinyoung Park.”

“Good to meet you!” Jackson smiled before turning to Jaebum. “So that means you’re Jaebum.”

“Yep, that’s me!” Jaebum smiled, hands still wrapped around his shelf.

“You need help with that?” Jackson asked sympathetically, an amused grin spread across his face.

“That’d be nice, thanks,” Jaebum said, blushing from embarrassment.

“See, you just gotta get the straps even,” Jackson explained, tugging them over the rack. “And…bam! It’s on!”

“Thanks, man.” Jaebum said, scratching the back of his neck. “Nice to meet you,” He is greeting, extending a hand.

“No problem. It’s kinda my job to help you out,” Jackson reassured with a smile. “Gotta earn that free room and board, y’know.” He joshed. His entire face was practically glowing. “I just wanted to let you guys know there’s going to be a mandatory floor meeting in the lounge in about fifteen minutes. Make sure you fill out your roommate agreement and sign it, ‘cause I’ll be collecting them at the end of the meeting, alright?”

“Yeah, we’ll go ahead and do that now,” Jaebum promised. “We’re getting kinda tired of unpacking stuff.”

“Sounds good, you guys, I’ll see you there!” Jackson said. He waved to the pair with a smile before heading out the door.

Jaebum walked over to his desk to retrieve the green slip of paper, beginning to read the list of subjects he and Jinyoung were supposed to agree upon. Guests, cleaning, trash day, routines, all the basics of living with another person.

“So how often are you okay with cleaning?” Jaebum asked, rolling his chair over to where Jinyoung sat at his desk.

“I’m used to cleaning once every two weeks, what about you?”

“My family does it once a week, so two weeks seems refreshing,” Jaebum admitted. “One of us could clean the bathroom and one of us could vacuum and dust, switch it up every week?”

“That sounds fine by me,” Jinyoung agreed. “And then trash we could just take out whenever it gets full?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Jaebum approved. “Now what about guests?”

“I’m fine with people being in here, so long as they’re polite about homework and noise and take their shoes off.” Jinyoung said.

“Agreed,” Jaebum stated, jotting their agreement down on the page. The next topic on the list surprised him, but it was an infamous issue within college culture. Honestly, he was a bit glad Residence Life decided to include it on the agreement, what with all the stories Jaebum had heard about students being exiled from their own dorm rooms. “Now, uh, what about…um-hooking up?”

Jinyoung choked on his laughter, eyebrows raised. “What, do you have a girlfriend you plan on inviting over or something?”

“Oh! Uh, no!” Jaebum stammered, face flushing. “D-do you?”

“Nah, girls aren’t really my type,” Jinyoung admitted.

“You’re-” Jaebum’s eyes went wide. He didn’t have an issue with his roommate being gay, he just hadn’t expected it from Jinyoung. The young man was the last Jaebum would guess to be gay, but then again, that’s probably what he gets for guessing.

“Gay? Yeah.” Jinyoung shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t have a boyfriend or anything though. So I guess this shouldn’t be too much of a worry?”

“Oh, well that’s cool,” Jaebum said. “But I mean, you never know. It is college, after all. So, should we put a sock on the doorknob or something in case one of us gets lucky?” He laughed.

“Nah, then the whole floor would know. That’s too basic,” Jinyoung smiled cheekily. “We have a whiteboard on our door, why not make a codeword?”

“Not a bad idea,” Jaebum said.

“Do you have any ideas in mind?” Jinyoung mused. “We could do a banana?”

Jaebum considered the options for a moment. “Eggplant” would be far too obvious, as would “peach,” or “three water droplets.”

“How about if you’re… _in here_ ,” Jaebum began. “You draw a bird on the whiteboard, and if I’m in here, I’ll draw a bee? Y’know, like the birds and the bees?”

“Sounds genius,” Jinyoung laughed.

Jaebum smiled. This seemed to be the beginning of a promising friendship.

-

“Alrighty guys, my name is Jackson Wang, and I’m the RA for dorms 400-415.”

“And my name is Junmyeon Kim, RA for dorms 416-430.”

Twenty minutes later, and all sixty of Jaebum’s floormates were crowded into the center lounge. Jaebum glanced around the room, pondering everyone’s names, what they were studying, what kind of personalities they had. He’d be spending the rest of the school year sharing a floor with them, battling over space in the laundry room with them, sharing the lounge and study rooms with them.

“We don’t wanna spend too much time out here, we know you guys still have some settling in to do,” Jackson continued. “As I said, I’m Jackson. I’m a sophomore studying kinesiology, and this is my first year being an RA, so I’m pretty excited.” He grinned.

“My name is Junmyeon, but you can call me Suho if you’d like,” Junmyeon said. He was about the same size as Jackson, if not just a smidge taller. He looked friendly, with messy brown hair and a hoodie drawn over his head. “I’m a junior studying musical theater and this is my second year as an RA. Last year I was an RN in Park Hall, and this year I was placed here, in Windsor.”

“We just have some basic rules and guidelines to go over for the dorms, and then we’ll get to know each other a little bit,” Jackson announced.

“First, quiet hours are between 9:00pm and 6:00am, though I’m sure your floormates would appreciate it if you were quiet until 9:00am,” Junmyeon said, earning a few giggles. “Additionally, there is to be no smoking, drug use, or drinking in the dorms, though I’m sure some of you will try to get away with that. Just know that if there _is_ reason to believe you have alcohol or drugs in your room, I am allowed to investigate and that it _can_ lead to expulsion. We will also have unannounced room searches that everyone must participate in, and no I won’t judge you on what other…unmentionables I may find. I’m just looking for weed and vodka.” This one earned a few more audible chuckles.

“Is he…talking about dildos?” Jaebum leaned in to whisper in Jinyoung’s ear. Jinyoung tried hard to stifle his laughter, to little avail.

“Where the fuck did you get that from?” Jinyoung whispered.

“Also, yes, vapes are only to be vaped outside. I know they don’t necessarily smell, but they do set off the sprinklers, and I doubt the 300-level would enjoy leaking roofs.” Junmyeon continued, a few frustrated huffs emitting from certain students.

“At the end of the hall we have a trash room, please dispose of your trash in there, and not in the communal trash bins in the lounge. These are for soda cans and pizza boxes-” Jackson walked across the room to said metal bins, labelled appropriately for general garbage and recycling. “Not trash bags full of tears and vomit.” Jinyoung chuckled beside Jaebum, clearly being able to relate to such a sentiment. “And just like out here, the trash bins in the trash room are separated for garbage and recycling. There’re three blue ones for trash and three green ones for recycling. Please break down your boxes before you toss them and please, no broken glass. The garbagemen don’t appreciate that, they have to deal with enough.”

“And that leads to the laundry room, also at the end of the hall.” Junmyeon explained. “Three washers, three dryers. It’s fifty cents to wash, a dollar to dry. They take the money preloaded onto your student cards, or quarters. There’s a dollar change machine in there if you need it. I’m letting you know now that taking people’s clothing out is frowned upon and will get you blasted on social media.” Jaebum blinked at that unspoken rule. Did people really take others’ laundry out of the machines to wash their own? Rude.

“Next, your whiteboards,” Jackson furthered. “Yes, we have whiteboard rules. No personal phone numbers, profanity, bullying, or obscene drawings. Social media handles are allowed, so long as nothing profane is added to it. If Junmyeon, another RA, or I see it, we will erase it. If we continually have to erase your board, you’ll get written up. That happened to my neighbor last year.”

“Same goes with noise,” Junmyeon carried on. “If we keep having to knock for noise inside your room, be it talking, music, or otherwise, you’ll get written up. Three write ups, you have to speak to the Head of Residence Life, which can lead to expulsion.”

“But Junmyeon and I aren’t only here to enforce rules. We’re here to be your friends and mentors while you adjust to college life. You can come talk to us if you’re having trouble with your roommates, with your classes, your significant others-”

“We do have condoms in our rooms should you need them, just please come knock fully clothed,” Junmyeon interjected. “Safe and _consensual_ sex is good sex,” Jaebum couldn’t help but chuckle loudly at that one. Going to his RA’s room for a rubber. Imagine.

“Yes, Junmyeon, I agree,” Jackson said, unable to keep a straight face. “But yeah, our doors are always open if you need someone to talk to. It doesn’t matter about what it is you wanna talk about. Whether it’s about your day, homework help, or if you need on an opinion on an outfit, we’re there. And condoms, too, I guess.”

“And now I believe that leads us to some introductions,” Junmyeon concluded. “Go ahead and introduce yourselves to your floormates and sign the bulletin boards with your names and majors. 400-415 on the right and 416-430 on the left. Jackson and I will be standing there to collect your signed roommate agreements. After that, you’re free to go.”

Jaebum stood, awkwardly glancing around the room as Jinyoung made his way to the bulletin board, handing Jackson their roommate agreement. Making his way around the room, Jaebum shook hands with a vibrant and pretty girl named Lisa, who said she was studying dance and lived in room 427. Her roommate was an equally pretty girl named Jennie, studying fashion marketing. He made his way through several other people, such as Chanyeol, a senior studying musical composition with a minor in psychology, who had to live in the freshman dorms this year because he was lazy and put his off-campus housing application in too late. There was also Namjoon who was majoring in writing composition but minoring in community health. Jiyho, studying to be an elementary school teacher, and Sehun, who was undecided in a major, but would likely decide on finance. Eventually, Jaebum weaseled away from the throng of students to the bulletin board labeled “Welcome 400-415 Students! Jackson Wang: RA.” There were already dozens of names scrawled across the white paper, and someone had, in fact, already drawn a penis. Some people also included their Twitter and Instagram handles, which kind of took Jaebum by surprise. He selected a bright blue sharpie and wrote in _Jaebum Im, pre-med._ No need to have anyone stalking his rare tweets and pictures just yet. He didn’t know anyone, if they were a worthy enough audience. He glanced around the board to see his own roommate’s writing, as predicted, in perfect lettering. _Jinyoung Park, pre-law, @jinyoung_0922jy._ Of course Jinyoung would add his Instagram handle.

After adding his name to the board, Jaebum decided he was done with the awkward ice-breakers. He glanced around the room to find Jinyoung, who he spotted chatting with Jackson. Probably not a bad idea to start getting on his good side, he figured. Jaebum walked over to the pair, who were starting to laugh over whatever it was they were talking about.

“Hey, Jaebum, you ready to head back?” Jinyoung asked, briefly breaking away from his conversation with Jackson.

“Yeah, you guys looked like you still had a bit of unpacking left to do,” Jackson said. “I’ll let you guys get to it. Nice talking to you, Jinyoung! See you around, Jaebum!” The pair waved goodbye to their RA, and as they descended down the long hall back to their room, Jackson called over his shoulder, “Remember: come to my room if you need anything!”

The two nodded in agreement, but somehow, Jaebum felt the message was more pointed to Jinyoung rather than himself. But he shrugged it off; Jackson and Jinyoung had just been talking, after all.

After returning to their room, Jaebum chatted with Jinyoung about what they were looking forward to this semester, things they were nervous about, and a few funny high school memories.

“Oh hey, what is your first class on Monday/Wednesday/Friday?” Jaebum asked, breaking down the last box to be dropped into the trash room.

Jinyoung stood, shuffling a few papers on his desk before stating, “I have Written Comp 102 with Professor Sun at 9:00am.”

“Damn, I also have Written Comp 102 at 9:00am, but with Professor Kwon.” Jaebum sighed.

“So close!” Jinyoung said. “But hey, we can still get breakfast together. What classes are after that?” He queried. “I have Calc 2 at 12:45 and Latin 201 at 3:30.”

Jaebum shuffled around for his own schedule before answering, “I have Spanish 201 at 11:15 and then Photography 101 at 3:00.”

“So breakfast and dinner together are a go, but not lunch,” Jinyoung noted.

“What about Tuesdays and Thursdays?” Jaebum asked. “I have The Art of Walking at 12:45 and Calc 2 at 2:45”

Jinyoung completely cracked up. “The Art of Walking? You chose that for your freshman health course?”

“Yes!” Jaebum defended. “As a future physician, I must explore all avenues of health, even if it is just walking. 30 minutes a day is good for your heart, you know!” Tousled slightly, Jaebum defended himself, stating, “That and it was either Art of Walking or Men’s Health and I didn’t wanna get stuck in a class about boners. I know enough about that.”

Jinyoung continued to crack up, chuckling as he responded, “Well I have History 123 and track practice. At 10:30 and 4:00.”

“Cool, so same things on Tuesdays and Thursdays, too.” Jaebum nodded. Speaking of which. “Jesus, it’s 7:45!” He exclaimed, glancing at his digital clock. “What time does the dining hall close?”

After a bit more shuffling on his desk, Jinyoung retrieved their pamphlet titled “Food for Thought,” listing anywhere on campus students could find a bite to eat. “Well, the main dining hall closed at 7:00, but the Taco Bell in the Student Life building is still open.”

“Sounds good to me,” Jaebum shrugged.

And so, the two made their way down to Student Life where Taco Bell, in all its glory, was still slinging tacos. After a long day, Jaebum needed the shitty carbs. He’d deserved it, and it was self-care.

“Hey, Jinyoung! Jaebum!” Jaebum swung his head around, the decision between a cheesy gordita crunch and a Doritos locos taco momentarily stalled. There was Jackson sauntering down the hall amongst a group of what appeared to be upperclassmen, wad of papers in one hand. “What’s up, you guys? Getting Taco Bell?” He asked, draping his arms over both he and Jinyoung’s shoulders. Jaebum had never met a more swole and outgoing person in all his life, and he didn’t hate it. Jackson seemed genuine.

“Yeah, we didn’t realize what time it was,” Jaebum explained.

“Well tacos sound a lot more interesting than the first-year RA meeting I was just in,” Jackson griped. “That was some boring shit. Get a Doritos locos for me, I can’t afford the carbs.” Well, there was Jaebum’s decision then. “Speaking of which, Jinyoung.” Jackson swung his head to face his roommate, whose ears in turn blushed a slight pink. Interesting. “You’re gonna be on the track team, right?”

“Yeah,” Jinyoung responded, eyes bright. “I am. I was signed.”

“Hell yeah!” Jackson smiled. “Wanna train at the gym with me? I know some tips and tricks as a kinesiology major.”

“Oh, yeah, that’d be cool,” Jinyoung replied, slightly breathless. “I’ll let you know.”

“Cool beans,” Jackson said, patting the two on the back. “Door’s always open, y’know!” He said before strolling out the double doors, leaving Jaebum feeling like a third wheel on his first night at college.

Jaebum immediately turned to Jinyoung, cheeky as ever. “Dude, I think our RA just hit on you."

“Jackson?” Jinyoung said, carefully restoring his composure. “No way.”

-

Jaebum and Jinyoung’s weekend went by in a monotonous blur of campus safety slideshows, awkward ice-breaker games, signing up for clubs, and a singular freshman mixer in the Student Life ballroom. At this point, Jaebum felt he could memorize Title IX in his sleep. As Jinyoung had already taken his own campus tour on move-in day, he and Jinyoung snuck away from the campus tour group and found out where everything was on their own. The two had found they got on amazingly well, in a sort of way where they felt like long-lost brothers.

Come Monday, Jaebum was tired with speeches on underage drinking and filling out forms. He was ready for classes to start.

“How many days in a row are you going to have ice cream for breakfast?” Jinyoung questioned, setting his own plate of eggs and hash browns on their table.

“My mom isn’t here to tell me what to do, I’m going off the deep end,” Jaebum joked, mixing his chocolate soft serve into a soup with his spoon. “But I’ll probably cave and get pancakes at some point.”

“You’re gonna gain the Freshman 15, bro,” Jinyoung teased.

“Well not all of us have an RA offering to be our personal trainer,” Jaebum teased back, wiggling his brows.

“He’s not into me, Jaebum!” Jinyoung sighed. “He’s just being nice.”

“That’s what they all say! ~” Jaebum sang, taunting his roommate. Jinyoung threw a chunk of scrambled egg at him. “Gross!” He wiped the chunk from his shoulder. “Well do you have his number?”

“Yes,” Jinyoung explained. “But it’s only to plan for the gym.”

“Sure, sure…” Jaebum said, deciding to drop the topic. The two then finished their breakfasts quickly, seeing as their first class would be starting in the next thirty minutes and they still had to make it across campus.

The pair made it with five minutes to spare, each waving goodbye as they went to their respective classrooms.

Jaebum walked into room B231, each of the seats mostly filled. There were a couple seats left in the back and a few in the middle, but there was one in the front right of the room that he decided to fill.

“Good morning class,” Jaebum turned his head to watch, who he assumed to be his professor, walk to the front of the room. “I am Professor Kwon, and I will be your instructor this semester through your adventures in Written Composition 102.” The professor didn’t look anything like how Jaebum imagined his professors to appear. Professor Kwon wore tight-fitting black slacks, a white button-up with a black bowtie, and a studded suit jacket with matching shoes. His hair was slicked back with shiny gel, and it looked like he may have even applied a touch of eyeliner to his lids. Professor Kwon looked like he was about to participate in Fashion Week rather than teach an introductory composition course at a state school. “Outside of this class, I am also a professor in the School of Apparel Arts where I teach introductory design courses. But I enjoy writing, so here I am.” Jaebum blinked. Maybe his professor may end up at Fashion Week, who knows.

“This class is prerequisite for many other composition and language courses in the university, but most importantly, it is required for graduation, so I highly suggest you take it seriously.” Professor Kwon explained. “Writing is a form of art, and when taken seriously, can create beautiful things. Like other arts, writing is intended to provoke thought, emotion, and inspiration in those who consume it. This is what our opening project is going to revolve around.” Jaebum could hear several of his classmates groan. What kind of monster assigns a project on the first day of class?

“It’s not going to be a very hard project, so relax,” Professor Kwon snickered. “I’m not _that_ evil. I’d just like to see how you approach writing.” He explained. “Now, I will assign each of you a partner, and this partner will be your collaborator for the duration of this course. You are to work with them on projects, both group and singular.” Another string of groans echoed into the classroom. “I get it guys, it’s 9am and I’m a piece of shit for this but work with me, and I’ll work with you.” Jaebum’s eyes shot open as the class chuckled in amusement. Teachers were allowed to swear in college?

“Raise your hand when I call out your name, and I’ll announce your partner. This is how I’ll take attendance today, but from here forward, roll will be taken on a piece of paper floating around the room.” Professor Kwon explained. “But before we do that, I would like to introduce you all to our remote student.” Curious, Jaebum watched as the professor turned on the Smart Board, where a small box in the right-hand corner covered a word document with the day’s agenda listed on the screen. In the box was a boy about Jaebum’s age, with cat-like eyes and black hair tumbling over his forehead. He wore a dark gray sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head and hands tucked into the sleeves, one covering his mouth. “Class, this is Youngjae Choi. He will be participating in our class via video chat due to a medical condition that is his to disclose, however he does live on campus should you need to collaborate with him in person.”

Jaebum watched, curious, as Youngjae waved to the class with a blurry hand. “Hi, class!” Youngjae chirped, his voice distorted through his microphone. A few students, Jaebum included, greeted him hello, as others stared at the screen in mild confusion.

Following Youngjae’s brief introduction, Professor Kwon began assigning partners. He paid half attention, listening for his name to be called, watching as Youngjae fiddled with his headphones in the small screen in the corner.

“Jaebum Im,” Professor Kwon announced, as Jaebum broke his eyes from the Smart Board to raise his hand. “Will be with Youngjae Choi.” Eyes flicking back to the screen, Jaebum watched as Youngjae gingerly lifted his own hand, eyes fixed on Jaebum’s general area. Jaebum’s cheeks warmed as he realized that Youngjae probably saw him staring, just now realizing that he was probably getting a live feed of the classroom.

A few minutes after the class was split into pairs (subtract a group of three), Professor Kwon began explaining the basis of their introductory project. “Conduct an interview with your partner. Meet up somewhere, discuss your likes, your dislikes, what their favorite things are, and what makes them, _them.”_ He explained. “Make a visual representation of them, be it a collage, a video, a diorama, whatever, and incorporate it into a two-minute speech on the person.” He described, glancing at his wristwatch. “Now we have about twenty minutes left in class, you can use this time to decide on where you would like to meet your partner.” Jaebum flicked his eyes back to the screen to find that Youngjae’s feed was gone, and just as his confusion began to settle, he heard his professor call his name. “Jaebum?” He said, waving him up to his podium.

“Yes sir?” Jaebum asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“Here’s Youngjae’s student email,” He said, slipping Jaebum a strip of paper. “I spent some time getting to know him before classes started. His situation is rather…unique.” The professor explained. “Not that I’m doubting you or anything, but, please treat him with respect.”

“Of course, sir,” Jaebum nodded, examining the address on the strip.

One day in, and Jaebum’s college experience was already becoming more than he had anticipated.


	2. Chapter 2

**_To: choyou3@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_From: imjae@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_Subject: Comp 102 Project_ **

**_Hi Youngjae,_ **

**_This is Jaebum Im, your partner for the Comp 102 project with Professor Kwon. I’m writing to set up a meeting to get us started. Let me know what works best for you._ **

**_-Jaebum_ **

“Your partner can’t leave their dorm?” Jinyoung asked, just as confused with the situation as Jaebum. “If he can’t leave his room, how did he even move on campus?”

“I dunno,” Jaebum pondered. “Maybe he has some sort of auto-immune thing, or maybe he has agoraphobia. Professor Kwon said he had a ‘unique situation’ due to a medical condition, so it could be anything, really.”

“That’s really interesting,” Jinyoung said, brows scrunched together. “Poor kid.”

Jaebum nodded in agreement, turning back to face his laptop as he heard the _ping!_ of an incoming email. It was from Youngjae.

**_To: imjae@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_From: choyou3@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_Subject: RE: Comp 102 Project_ **

****

**_Hi Jaebum!_ **

**_Thank you for writing me. Would you be able to come tomorrow around 4:00? We can meet at my dorm if that works for you, as long as we are somewhere inside_ ** **😊**

**_Youngjae_ **

****

Somewhere inside? Jaebum and his minimal medical expertise was almost certain Youngjae had some sort of auto-immune disease. Oh god, what if he poisoned the poor guy by accident? Tentatively, he responded:

**_To: choyou3@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_From: imjae@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_Subject: RE: RE: Comp 102 Project_ **

****

**_I can definitely meet at your dorm at 4:00. Where do you live, and is there anything you need me to do?_ **

**_-Jaebum_ **

****

**_To: imjae@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_From: choyou3@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_Subject: RE: RE: RE: Comp 102 Project_ **

****

**_I live at 342 Baker Hall. Haha, and as long as you have no cat fur, latex, or aerosol fragrance on you, I should be ok! Thank you for asking, by the way!_ **

****

Cat fur, latex, aerosol…they all had the possibility to be allergies. Is that why Youngjae couldn’t leave his dorm, extreme allergies? Jaebum would have to make sure to do a fresh load of laundry before their meeting tomorrow. It would probably leave a bad taste in Youngjae’s mouth if he almost killed the kid during their project.

****

**_To: choyou3@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_From: imjae@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: Comp 102 Project_ **

****

**_342 Baker Hall at 4pm, got it. I would be a pretty bad pre-med student if I didn’t ask you first._ **

****

**_To: imjae@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_From: choyou3@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Comp 102 Project_ **

****

**_Pre-med, huh? Well you’re in for a treat_ ** **😉 _see you tomorrow Jaebum!_**

****

Jaebum was thoroughly confused. Who exactly was Youngjae? _Well_ , he thought with a sigh, raking his hand through his hair, _I’ll find out tomorrow._

The rest of Jaebum’s evening consisted of signing syllabus agreements, defining photography terms, and filling out a Spanish survey. That, and flinging bits of notebook paper at the back of Jinyoung’s head, to which the latter stacked them ornately into a pyramid on his desk. Jaebum dubbed it The Paper Louvre.

It was close to dinner as Jaebum was wrapping up his Spanish assignment, when Jinyoung stood up from his desk and cleared his throat.

“Hey, uh, Jae?” His roommate asked. Jaebum turned to face him.

“Uhh…yeah, what is it Jinyoung?” He replied, brow quirked.

“Are you alright going to dinner alone tonight? Jackson asked me if I wanted to go to the gym with him at 7:30.”

“Yeah, that’s totally fine,” He chuckled. “Go get that _kinesiologist expertise_ he mentioned.” Jinyoung did not appreciate Jaebum’s smug tone. “If you’re gonna go hang out with him, maybe don’t look like you’re about to puke all over his shoes.”

Jinyoung’s face fell into a cold glare. “Keep it up if you don’t want to wake up in the morning, Jae.” He crumpled up a piece of scratch paper from his desk, launching it towards Jaebum’s face. “Jackson is just being friendly. Besides, if I wanted him, you’d get to get to see me be smooth in action.”

Jaebum lost his shit, full on belly-laughing at his roommate. “Sure, sure, Jinyoung-ie. Just how smooth are you?”

“Smooth enough to fuck the quarterback of the football team every Wednesday afternoon my senior year.” Jinyoung defended.

“Well, you’ve apparently fallen from grace,” Jaebum teased. “You’ve known Jackson for three days and he’s already got you whipped.”

“You’re a piece of shit,” Jinyoung grumbled, swiping his gym bag from the ground and heading for the door, but Jaebum could still the glint of a smile on his face as he turned away.

He gave Jinyoung a solid month before he revealed he was either dating or fucking the RA.

-

Tuesdays and Thursdays, Jaebum decided, were going the best days of the week. The Art of Walking was such a fluff class, he considered that he could probably skip class and hang out at the on-campus Starbucks for an hour before reporting back to the coach. In fact, he probably would. Nevertheless, the best part was that he would have a clear head for his 2:45 Calc 2 course. Jaebum was fairly skilled at math, passing his Calc 1 AP exam with a solid 4, however, calc was so tedious, it made him want to rip his hair out.

At 3:45, Jaebum walked out of his Calc 2 lecture hall and sent Youngjae a quick email from his phone.

**_To: choyou3@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_From: imjae@mail.kmu.edu_ **

**_Subject: Project_ **

****

**_Hey, Youngjae. Just leaving class. I’ll be to your dorm in a few._ **

**_-Jaebum_ **

****

Upon exiting the STEM hall, Jaebum waltzed on over to a nearby campus directory board. He’d recalled seeing Baker Hall on his and Jinyoung’s freelance campus tour that weekend, though he couldn’t exactly pinpoint where it was. All he could remember was it resting along the edge of campus. Sure enough, Baker Hall was just a quick walk east of the STEM hall. Within a few minutes, Jaebum was swiping his keycard into the front doors of the brick building, taking an elevator up to the third floor.

Baker Hall’s interior was much cheerier than Jaebum’s home of Park Hall. Park Hall was one of KMU’s oldest dorms, the halls made of stereotypical whitewashed cinderblocks and pale wooden trim, the concrete walls inside the rooms smeared with a thick coat of glossy crème-colored paint. Baker Hall, on the other hand, was built a mere two years prior with a much more modern eye. The floors were decorated with dark grey and black polka-dotted carpet, the walls a crisp shade of baby blue- one of the school’s colors. One side of the common area was given a floor-to-ceiling window with a pristine view of one of the campus’ courtyards. Jaebum was slightly jealous.

As Jaebum drew near room 342, he noticed the door only had one nametag. Each of the other doors around it had two names: Jisoo & Roseanne, Kunpimook & Yugyeom, Luhan & Yixing, Jongin & Taemin, Taeyeon & Tiffany. However, on 342, a yellow die-cut flower reading _Youngjae_ hung by its lonesome. Perplexed, Jaebum rapped his hand against the door.

Within seconds, the door was clicking open and Jaebum was face to face with the curious Choi Youngjae.

His hair was again messily flopped across his forehead, hidden beneath the hood of a forest green and black tie-dyed sweatshirt that reached his mid-thigh, the tail end of a pair of black cotton shorts peeking out from underneath. Youngjae looked like he was swimming in his clothes in the most comfortable way.

“Jaebum?” He spoke, his voice as soft as he looked and clear as a bell.

“Yeah, hi,” Jaebum responded with a quick shake of his head, “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too!” Youngjae chirped, the biggest and brightest smile stretching across his cheeks. “Come on in!”

Jaebum followed Youngjae inside his dorm, slipping his shoes off at the door. Glancing around the room, he saw only one bed, one dresser, and a single desk. In nearly every corner were small air purifiers, and on his bathroom counter an array of pill bottles and prescription boxes. Aside from these small things, Youngjae’s room didn’t scream “I’m sickly.” In fact, the rest of his dorm was the single most colorful place Jaebum had ever been. His walls were covered in posters of psychedelic art, mandalas and tapestries with dreamcatchers and round, hanging candle holders, posters of The Beatles and Bob Marley, others with skeletons donning rose crowns, dancing tortoises and colorful, marching bears. His bed was a happy nest of pillows and blankets, and his floor was covered with a large oriental rug. Below his windowsill laid a large box of vinyl records, the sill itself littered with plastic succulents and ferns, accompanied by a glowing lava lamp, and a small record player playing a pleasant tune alongside a warm voice singing:

_Well the first days are the hardest days, don’t you worry anymore,_

_Cause when life looks like easy street, there is danger at your door._

_Think this through with me, let me know your mind,_

_Woah-oh, what I want to know, is are you kind?  
(Uncle John’s Band)_

Along the right side of his room, across from Youngjae’s bed, was a keyboard and several more stacked crates, of what Jaebum assumed to be records. Looking above, Jaebum saw that Youngjae’s ceiling was covered in a crosshatch of shimmering fairy-lights, as he quickly noticed Youngjae’s window was blacked out with a thick mandala curtain, from which an array of crystals and glass orbs were strung across the rod with hemp braids. Not a glimpse of sunlight was apparent in the room, yet Jaebum had never been anywhere brighter.

“I’m a bit of a hippie,” Youngjae chuckled nervously.

“I couldn’t tell,” Jaebum teased, admiring all the twinkling lights. “I like it, though.”

“Do you wanna come up on my bed?” Youngjae asked. “It’s really comfy.”

“Sure,” Jaebum replied. “It definitely looks like it.” Jaebum walked over to Youngjae’s bed, setting his backpack on the floor before flopping down into the nest of pillows. Youngjae followed suit, except this time, what Jaebum had believed to be a white throw pillow perked its head up. The pillow was actually a small dog. “Is that a dog?” Jaebum asked.

“Oh, yeah!” Youngjae giggled, lifting the pup into his lap. “This is Coco, she’s my emotional support animal.” Youngjae lifted one her little paws, waving it while cooing, “Say hi to Jaebum, Coco!”

“Hello, Coco,” Jaebum greeted, sticking his hand out for her to sniff. Coco licked his hand, turning up to smile at him as dogs do. “I’m more of a cat guy myself, seeing I have three of them waiting for me back at home, but I do have to admit that Coco is adorable.”

“Thanks! She’s my hairy baby,” Youngjae giggled, scratching behind Coco’s ears. “What are your cats’ names?”

“Nora, Kunta, and Odd,” Jaebum smiled proudly. He reached into his back pocket to retrieve his phone, scrolling through his photo album before bringing up a snapshot of his kittens. “I know you’re allergic to them, but you can agree, they’re adorable, right?”

Youngjae chuckled. “Yes, despite my allergies, I can say that you have the cutest cats in the world, Jaebum.”

“Damn right they are!” Jaebum smiled. “Speaking of which, do you want to interview me first, or would you like me to go?”

“Can I interview you first?” Youngjae asked, ruffling his hair from his forehead.

“Sure, no problem.” Jaebum shrugged.

Youngjae began his questioning, which involved the basics, such as what his major was (pre-med), when was his birthday (6 January), siblings (zero), favorite colors (black, white, red), favorite movies (Midnight in Paris), and favorite food (kimchi stew, which he likes to cook), favorite ice cream flavor (chocolate), and favorite musicians (Michael Jackson, Musiq Soulchild), and his hobbies (cooking, photography, dancing). Youngjae listened to each of his answers, prompting Jaebum to delve a little bit deeper into the things he enjoyed. Jaebum had feared their interview was going to be awkward, however, Youngjae gave the sense that he actually cared about hearing Jaebum talk; like he truly wanted to get to know him.

“You like dancing?” Youngjae asked with a smile. “What kind?”

“Uh, well…” Jaebum’s ears began to flush red. “I-it’s kind of embarrassing…but, I’m a self-taught b-boy.”

“A what?” Youngjae quirked his head to the side.

“N-nothing! Nothing! It’s not that big a deal!” Jaebum stammered, clearing his throat. “So, what’s your major?!” He cleared his throat.

Youngjae giggled. “I’m a music therapy major.”

Jaebum raised his brows. “That’s impressive.”

Youngjae shrugged. “Yeah, I really like music.”

“That explains the keyboard then?”

“Yeah,” Youngjae rubbed the back of his neck. “I play piano. I have a more formal one back at home, though.” He explained, tugging at the sleeves of his hoodie.

“What got you into music?” Jaebum asked.

“I’ve just always liked it,” Youngjae began, his shoulders relaxing a bit. “I started playing piano when I was, like, three or four? Then got into choir in middle school. I really fell in love with it. I wanted to be a musician like Bruno Mars, making ballads and R&B stuff.”  
  
“What made you change your mind?”

Youngjae took a deep breath. “My diagnosis.”

“W-what is it? That you have?”

“It’s called Hereditary Alpha Tryptasemia,” Youngjae began. Jaebum was perplexed. He’d never heard of it before. “It’s a biochemical trait, which is a nicer way of saying ‘genetic mutation.’ I have four extra copies of the TPSAB1 gene. Basically, my body produces too much tryptase, which is a protein that triggers allergies, and it affects a lot of parts of my body since tryptase is found in your blood. My allergies are weird, though, like I can eat eggs, but I reacted really strongly to them in a skin test.” He continued. “It causes stomach issues like GERD and IBS, I have issues with brain fog, I have insomnia,” He explained. “And, most people with HATs show signs of Ehler’s-Danlos, like me. I’m hypermobile. My legs will hurt all day sometimes, I bruise a lot, and my limbs are bendy.” Youngjae giggled as he pulled his thumb all the way down to the inside of his wrist, startling Jaebum. “I can do that, but mostly my elbows stick out at weird angles, so I wear long-sleeves a lot.” He shrugged.

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, why is it you can’t leave your dorm?” Jaebum asked gingerly. “Is it all the allergies?”

“Well, it kinda goes with the weird allergies,” Youngjae stated. “I’m allergic to a lot of stuff, like cats, cucumbers, latex, one of the chemicals in aerosol sprays, tree nuts, coconuts, coffee, bananas, tomatoes, avocados, every type of yard grass, and menthol.”

Jaebum’s eyes had practically shot into his hairline at Youngjae’s list of allergies. “Are all those why you can’t leave? Is it because you have so many?”

“Not really,” Youngjae laughed nervously. “Most of them are if I eat them, but latex is bad enough that I can’t be around balloons, I have to wear a mask if I go out because of the aerosol, and the nuts are pretty bad, too, but uh…” He paused, tugging at his sleeves again. “My body is…reactive to temperature.” Jaebum quirked his head as Youngjae stood up off his bed, placing Coco back into the nest of pillows. Temperature? “Follow me.” He waved Jaebum over to his bathroom sink. “Watch this.” He said. Jaebum observed as Youngjae rolled up his sleeve, trying not to notice the large, green bruise under the outside edge of his elbow. Youngjae turned his sink on high, water and steam boiling out of the faucet.

“Youngjae, you’re going to burn yourself.” Jaebum warned as Youngjae stuck his hand beneath the torrent of hot water. Youngjae’s only response was a finger to silence him. A few seconds later, Youngjae’s hand was a sore red as he stopped the tap. He waved his hand in the air to cool it down, and as the red faded into pink, Jaebum could see a rash of bumpy hives all around the back of Youngjae’s hand, speckling around his knuckles and crawling up his fingers. “Oh my god…” Jaebum whispered.

“This is one of the ways my body reacts to temperature,” Youngjae explained. “If my shower is too hot, I break into hives. If I leave my room, I start to get clammy. If it’s warm inside a room, I start sweating like crazy and get dizzy, and sometimes I even faint.” He continued. “But the big reason why I can’t leave my room…is that I react to the sun.” Jaebum gawked at him. “What happens to my hand in hot water is what happens to my whole body in sunlight.”

“The sun makes you break out in hives?” Jaebum repeated, incredulous. Youngjae simply nodded, shy.

“I used to be able to go outside if I covered up and had an umbrella,” He said. “But a couple years ago, my doctor said it would just be easier on my body if I only went out when the sun was down.”

“That’s crazy, no offense.”

“None taken,” Youngjae chuckled. “Though, now I should probably take a Benadryl.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean for you to hurt yourself!” Jaebum said, concerned.

“It happens,” Youngjae shrugged. “Besides, would you have believed all this otherwise?”

“Probably not, to be honest,” Jaebum confessed. “But hey, anything’s possible in medicine.”

“That’s what my doctors tell me,” Youngjae giggled, tossing a Benadryl into his mouth, and chasing it with water. “Isn’t that right girlie!” He cooed, picking up Coco, who had apparently joined into their conversation. She whined in response, resting her head in the crook of Youngjae’s arm, staring up at him with her round, brown eyes. Pretty damn cute, if you asked Jaebum. “Ohh, she has to go out.”

“Yeah, how does she go out if you…” Jaebum trailed off. He hadn’t exactly figured out which questions were appropriate, and which weren’t.

“You don’t have to be awkward,” Youngjae smiled, sensing Jaebum’s trepidation. “I have a weird disease, so I’m used to the awkward questions.” He said. “But Mark, my RA, and my neighbors usually help with her. I think Mark is at class right now, do you want to go with me to ask my neighbors? I’m sure they’ll like you!”

“Yeah, sure.” Jaebum shrugged with a smile.

“Do you mind holding her for a minute?” Youngjae asked, holding Coco out for Jaebum to grab.

“Nah, I don’t mind cuddling her.” Jaebum smiled, taking the pup from Youngjae’s hands. “Hey, little lady!” He cooed, scratching under her chin. “She makes me miss my cats.”

“You really like cats, don’t you?” Youngjae chuckled, pulling a medical mask from one of the boxes by his sink.

“I do!” Jaebum grinned. “All my volunteer work for high school was done at my local animal shelter.” He said. “Well, most of it, at least. I did do volunteer stuff for my local hospital.”

“Wow, Mr. Jaebum Im is a charitable man!” Youngjae cheered, fastening the mask around his ears. “Helping animals _and_ people!”

“I suppose so,” Jaebum smiled. “I’ll heal people with medicine, and you will with music.”

“That’s the goal!” Youngjae chirped, pulling his door open. “Let’s go! You can meet my friends.” Jaebum, Coco still in his arms, followed Youngjae across the hall to one of the doors he saw earlier. Kunpimook and Yugyeom. Youngjae kicked the bottom of the door a rough four times, shouting, _“BAMMIE! ~”_

Sure enough, the door swung open, and a tall, round-faced boy wearing circular glasses stood on the other side. “Youngie! What’s good, who’s the model holding Coco?”

Model? “Model?” Jaebum questioned.

“Yeah, man, you seen yourself?” The boy stated. Forward, but okay. “Does she need to go out?” He asked, turning back to Youngjae.

“Yeah, she does,” Youngjae replied. “This is Jaebum, by the way. We’re doing a project together.”

The boy turned his head back inside his dorm, calling, “Gyeomie, our baby is here!”

“Shit!” A voice replied. “I can’t pause this game!”

“I’m Bambam, by the way.” The boy swung back around to face Jaebum. “But the door says Kunpimook.”

“We’ve all been friends since high school,” Youngjae explained. “Us and Yugyeom.”

“They call me Bambam because I Bambam all the ladies.” Bambam said in a suave tone, wiggling his eyebrows. Jaebum choked.

“That’s not true!” Youngjae cackled.

“Babe, I’m _right here_.” Another tall boy appeared behind Bambam, his arm circling around his shoulders. “You Bambam all the _me.”_

Jaebum suddenly felt as though he was a third wheel in this conversation, for the second time in the span of a few days. Or fifth, rather, counting Youngjae and Coco.

“Guys, you’re making Jaebum feel weird,” Youngjae laughed.

“I-I mean-” Jaebum started but was quickly interrupted by Bambam’s whining.

 _“Ewww_ , get _off_ of me!” He squealed, shaking Yugyeom off of him, causing the latter to sigh exasperatedly.

“Always gotta put on a show, don’t you?” Yugyeom groaned. “Come on, let’s have a good time with Coco during our visitation.”

“Okay, I _guess.”_ Bambam exhaled once more. “Mind if I take her off your hands?” He asked, stretching his arms out towards Jaebum.

“Not at all,” Jaebum replied, handing the pup over. “Not that I didn’t enjoy her company. She’s a nice gal.”

“That she is! Isn’t that right, princess?” Bambam cooed, cuddling Coco into his chest. “We’ll bring her right back, alright Youngie?”

“Take your time, it’s chill!” Youngjae called after him as the pair made their way to the stairwell. He turned back to Jaebum, “Sorry if they were a bit much.”

“It’s alright, they seem…cool.” He shrugged, trying to decide if “cool” was the right word to use.  
“That’s one way to put it,” Youngjae laughed. “They don’t have a filter for anyone or anything, which is why they work so well together.”

“How long have they been together?” Jaebum asked.

“Like two years at this point,” Youngjae said. “We all met in a study hall freshman year of high school and hit it off, but they crushed on each other from the second they met. Until junior year, at least, when I got tired of them always complaining about their ‘unrequited love’ to me and I got them to finally go out with each other.”

“So they kind of owe you for everything?”

“They do!” Youngjae exclaimed. “If they don’t make me the best man at their wedding someday, I’m gonna be pissed.”

“And rightfully so,” Jaebum chuckled. He was quiet for a moment before saying, “Yeah, I think my RA is into my roommate, but he doesn’t see it.”

“Really? No way!” Jaebum admired how Youngjae’s eyes smiled, gleaming, the rest of his face hidden by the mask.  
“Yeah, our RA keeps inviting him to the gym to work out, but he just thinks he’s being nice.” Jaebum explained.

“Do you know if your roommate likes him?” Youngjae asked.

“I can kind of see it, but I can’t tell for sure,” Jaebum pondered. “Jinyoung seems like the type who thinks he’s too cool to admit to having a crush on someone.”

“Just like Bammie,” Youngjae giggled.

Just then, a little white poof yipped, and Jaebum turned, watching Coco gallop down the hall, Bambam and Yugyeom trailing behind.

“The princess has returned!” Yugyeom hailed as Youngjae scooped the pup back into his arms. “You guys wanna come chill with us for a bit?”

“We would, but we still have a bit of our project left to work on for the day,” Youngjae said.

“What’s your project on again?” Bambam asked, Yugyeom resting his chin on his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“We have to interview each other for a presentation,” Youngjae explained. “But we have to work on projects together for the rest of the semester it sounds like.”  
“Oh cool, so we’ll be seeing more of you then, Jaebum?” Bambam asked with a smile.

“Yeah, you should,” Jaebum smiled in reply.

The four exchanged partings before walking back inside Youngjae’s dorm, Jaebum kicking his shoes back off at the door. Youngjae set Coco free inside the small room before peeling his mask away.

“So if I remember correctly, I was talking about my disorder, right?” Youngjae asked sitting down on his ornate rug.

“Yeah, and you got your hand all hived up in the water.” Jaebum affirmed, sitting cross-legged across from the boy.

“Oh yeah, right!” Youngjae recalled, examining his left hand. “They’ve all gone away.”

“That’s good, I didn’t wanna have to rush you to the ER for our first project,” Jaebum said.

“Well, it would make your interview a lot easier!” Youngjae joked. “If Youngjae is exposed to X, Y, or Z, he has to stay in the hospital overnight!” He chuckled. At least Youngjae could make light of his circumstances, Jaebum figured. He seemed to handle everything with ease. “But anyway,” He continued. “There is one thing left about me that I’d say is pretty important.”  
“What would that be?” Jaebum queried.

“I’m a _massive_ Deadhead.” Youngjae beamed.

Jaebum was puzzled at the term. “Deadhead?”

“I’m a really big fan of this old band, the Grateful Dead.” He explained. “Their songs are really fantastical, so much so that there’s a whole group of researchers and archivists that study their work. There’s museums and historical sites and a whole culture around them.”  
“That’s really interesting,” Jaebum said, enthralled. “What kind of music do they play?”

“Jam rock, essentially,” Youngjae said. “Old hippie stuff from the 60s that doesn’t make much sense. They talk about life and the world and how nothing in life is really understandable. A lot of references to religion and old fables.” Youngjae smiled softly, his eyes gleaming. “Their music really helped me come to terms with my diagnosis and became the reason why I want to work in music therapy.” He explained. “They helped me learn how to live in the moment and appreciate life and not to fear what comes next.”  
“That’s really amazing, Youngjae.” Jaebum said, intrigued. “Let me listen to them.”

Youngjae smiled, mischievous, as he tilted his head. “Firstly, Jaebum, one does not _listen_ to the Dead the first time they hear them,” He flipped his hair back with his hand before pulling his hood over his head. “One _discovers_ the Dead.” Youngjae stood, turning to gather an armful of pillows before dropping them onto the rug. “Here,” Youngjae arranged the pillows into a neat pile. “This will help.” Quickly, as if on a mission, he scurried over to his dresser, pulling open a drawer and rummaging around inside. “Jaebum, do you smoke?”

“Like, cigarettes?”

Youngjae giggled. Jaebum had never encountered someone who giggled as much as Youngjae Choi did. “No, silly. Like _smoke_ smoke.”  
“Oh, weed?” Jaebum realized, seeming a bit like an idiot. Though, he hadn’t quite expected Youngjae to smoke.

“Yeah, I have some stuff if you want to.” Youngjae lifted his hand to reveal a small pen-like object. “It’s a wax pen, so it doesn’t smell or set off the alarms. Don’t feel like you have to say yes, though!”  
“How do you have that, no offense?”

“Prescription for my leg pain,” Youngjae giggled. “I’m the only one on campus that’s allowed to have weed!” He grinned. “I had to actually talk to my doctor and be like ‘hey, can I bring a bong to school or no?’” He laughed, and Jaebum couldn’t help but join in. “But I don’t use this a lot, though, since my pain isn’t all too bad. I just figured now would be a good time if I were to introduce you to the Dead.”

“Sure, why not?” Jaebum shrugged. No time like the present, right?

He watched as Youngjae took a deep hit of the pen, exhaling a small swirl of clouds from his nose. “Careful, it’s a little bit strong.” He warned, handing the pen over to Jaebum. Jaebum examined the pen carefully before holding it to his lips. It had been a while since he had last smoked weed. Probably since last year’s football season, under the bleachers with his friends. He sucked in, the vapor singeing the back of his throat a bit, causing a minor coughing fit.

“You okay?” Youngjae tittered from one of his many crates of vinyl records.

“Yeah,” Jaebum croaked, clearing his throat. “It’s just been a minute is all.” He handed the pen back to Youngjae, who then flipped a record onto his player.

“It’ll pass, don’t worry!” Youngjae reassured him. “This is one of my favorite songs of theirs.” He explained, padding back over to the pile of pillows. “Just breath deep, and let the music carry you away…”

Jaebum did as he was told, laying back on the plush pillows, the sounds of upbeat guitar strings swirling in his ears. The music seemed different than what Youngjae had been playing through his dorm earlier. It sounded warmer in a way, happier. As the lyrics began, a warm wave crashed over Jaebum’s body and soul.

_Inspiration, move me brightly.  
Light the song with sense and color,  
Hold away despair.  
More than this I will not ask,  
Faced with mysteries dark and vast,  
Statements just seem vain at last._

_Some rise,  
Some fall,  
Some climb,  
To get to terrapin._

_Counting stars by candlelight,  
All are dim, but one is bright.  
The spiral light of Venus,  
Rising first and shining best.  
On, from the northwest corner,  
Of a brand-new crescent moon.  
While crickets and cicadas sing,  
A rare and different tune.  
Terrapin station…_

_In the shadow of the moon, terrapin station.  
And I know we'll be there soon, terrapin…  
I can't figure out, terrapin…  
If it's the end or beginning, terrapin…  
But the train's put its brakes on, terrapin…  
And the whistle is screaming, terrapin…_

_(Terrapin Station Medley)_

Jaebum felt like he had been sent soaring through the clouds, a warmth bursting through his veins and sending light twinkling like a kaleidoscope through his vision. The notes of the song surged, from whimsical and bright, to tense and action-filled, to slow and dark, to which his brain gauged as mere seconds trapped in hours. Jaebum didn’t know whether or not he should close his eyes. He had never experienced anything like it before. Everything was warm and bore wings.

And all too soon, the record stopped, snapping Jaebum back into reality. “How long were we there?” He asked, shooting up to face Youngjae as the recording crackled in the background.

Youngjae laughed heartily, leaning up from the pillows to go and lift the needle from his record. “It’s a sixteen minute song,” He said, eyelids drooping. He looked so _warm._

“Sixteen minutes?” Jaebum repeated, scratching the back of his head. He could’ve sworn the time had lasted longer than that, yet somehow shorter all the same.

Youngjae gazed at Jaebum, sitting back down across from him. “That’s what the Dead does to you.” He smiled. “You okay?”

“Yeah, that was just…” Jaebum stammered. “That was awesome.” He smiled.

“Good, I’m glad!” Youngjae beamed, his face practically splitting in two. “I have a lot to teach you then.”

“That you do,” Jaebum agreed. Suddenly remembering that time exits, Jaebum slipped his phone from his jeans pocket. 6:54pm. “Oh shit, hey, I’m sorry but I should probably leave right now. I told Jinyoung I’d meet him at the dining hall for dinner at seven.”

“Hey, that’s fine.” Youngjae shrugged. “When do you want to meet again?”

“The project is due Friday, right?” Jaebum said. Youngjae nodded. “So probably tomorrow, yeah?”

“Cool thing,” Youngjae smiled, taking out his own phone. “Here,” He said, opening it up. “Put your number in.”

Jaebum reached over, inputting his name and number into Youngjae’s contacts list. “I’ll text you then. See you tomorrow!” Jaebum stood, as did Youngjae, saying bye again before heading out the door.

Jaebum practically raced to the dining hall, knowing full-well Jinyoung would _not_ be pleased if he were late. His roommate, Jaebum had learned, was a total neat freak.

By the time he had made it to the dining hall, Jaebum was out of breath and nearly collapsed on Jinyoung, who was sat on a bench outside, waiting.

“Dude, did you really run here?” Jinyoung asked, practically shoving Jaebum off his shoulder. “What are you-oh holy mother of marijuana, your eyes are red.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jaebum gasped, sitting down beside Jinyoung.

“So, did you actually work on your project, or did you and Youngjae just get unbelievably high?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m going inside.” Jinyoung sighed, heading for the doors.

“Me too, I’m hungry.” Jaebum replied.

“I bet you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, it is me again. 
> 
> just popping in to say that the disorder youngjae has exists, and i have it (i do react to heat/uv, but can still go outside lol). now i'm not saying that youngjae is my self insert, but writing this has been my sort of been my coping method :^))))

**Author's Note:**

> ope, didn't see ya there! hi it's me the author. i just wanted to say that i have like 4 chapters/50 pages of this written and i started this like....ehhhh last year i think???? two maybe?? but i rlly wanna finish this but lack the motivation to do so. this is not me asking u to encourage me, this is just me using pressure to finish sht :^)  
> i'll post the other 3 chapters to this soon...ish? second chap will be up sooner than the rest.
> 
> anywho have a blesst day y'all :3


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